1 John

Loving Others to Love God

October 29, 2024October 29, 2024 by Travis Agnew

Our love for others validates our love for God. It reveals our genuine spiritual condition. You can express your devotion to God through the songs you sing, the prayers you pray, and the verses you promote, but if you can’t love God’s children, He questions your ability to love Him.

It’s Time to Get Honest

August 14, 2024 by Travis Agnew

Ignoring our sin doesn’t remove it from reality. To step out of the darkness and into the light, we have to be honest about our sins.

Just Go Ahead and Confess It Already

April 30, 2024 by Travis Agnew

We often think that confession is a weakness, but it is actually a strength. God knows what you have been struggling with recently, so it’s best to share it with Him.

Let No Hobby Separate

August 22, 2023 by Travis Agnew

Our hobbies can easily become our obsessions when we spend more thoughts, time, effort, and money on them than anything else. Learn to like your hobbies and love your spouse.

Declaring Bankruptcy

April 11, 2023 by Travis Agnew

While we want to believe we can pay God back for all our mistakes, the reality is we are truly spiritually bankrupt. Without His assistance, we have no hope.

Know That You Know That You Know

July 17, 2022December 26, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 5:13-21 – There is no greater assurance to seek than that of your salvation. Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life and your present life receives the purpose needed.

The Greatest Gift Given

July 17, 2022December 19, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 5:6-12 – Out of all the gifts given to us, none can rival Jesus Christ Himself. Through a relationship with Jesus, we find the life for which we have all been longing.

Calling All Overcomers

July 17, 2022December 12, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 5:1-5 – We will be unable to overcome the world until obedience to God’s Word is desirable. Once God’s commandments are no longer seen as burdensome, we can experience the victory intended for us.

You Can’t Love Until You’ve Been Loved

July 17, 2022December 5, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 4:7-21 – Our love for God and others is contingent upon HIs love for us. We are incapable of loving another until we grasp the unfathomable love of God.

Not Every Spiritual Person Is Spirit-Led

July 17, 2022November 28, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 4:2-6 – Many people seem to be spiritual but really aren’t biblical. We must learn to test the spirits of what people say so that we don’t drift away from the Spirit of God.

Love Requires More Than Words

July 17, 2022November 21, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 3:11-24 – It’s one thing to tell people that you love them, but it’s an entirely different thing to show them. Love requires more than words and should be displayed through our deeds and truth.

If Habitual Sin Remains Unchallenged

July 17, 2022November 14, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 3:4-10 – Can a true believer continue in habitual sin? God’s Word provides stark warnings about the changes that should be present in the disciple’s life.

Righteous Resemblance

July 17, 2022November 7, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 2:28-3:3 – If God is truly our Father, certain things about us are guaranteed to happen. Over time, we will grow more to look like Him if we truly belong to Him.

Deconstruction & Deception

July 17, 2022October 31, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 2:18-27 – Some people appear like they know Christ, but over time, the masks come off, and we see who they truly are. Beware of deceitful people who claim temporary or modifiable association with Jesus.

How to Know for Sure You Are Saved

July 17, 2022October 17, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 2:1-11 – Assurance of salvation can often be an elusive thing to obtain. God’s Word provides specific characteristics of those who have been truly born again.

Stepping Out of Darkness

July 17, 2022October 10, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 1:5-10 – To deny sin’s presence in our lives only increases our level of guilt. The only way to walk in the light is by stepping out of the darkness in honest confession for true forgiveness.

October 18, 2021October 3, 2021 by Travis Agnew

If you really want to experience the life God intended, you must know the God who created you. Too many followers of Jesus struggle with an assurance of salvation, the standard of truth, the call of obedience, and the path of unity. Don’t settle for a mediocre faith, but pursue a faithful life.

Rescued from an Ordinary Life

July 17, 2022October 3, 2021 by Travis Agnew

1 John 1:1-4 – Far too many professing Christians drudge through life, seemingly unaware of the joyful journey it is to follow Jesus. To know Jesus is to experience rescue from an ordinary life.

1 John [Series Overview]

September 21, 2021 by Travis Agnew

Praying Against God’s Will Can Never Work

April 25, 2017April 11, 2016 by Travis Agnew

I’ve written before on “12 Reasons Why Prayer Doesn’t Work.” Many can become frustrated when they don’t see any success in their prayers. As believers, we must investigate to see if we are living in such a way that our prayers can be heard. In our disobedience, it may not be that God disagrees with our prayers, he may simply not …

1 John Recap

April 25, 2017April 27, 2013 by Travis Agnew

A few months ago, we looked at the calendar and needed to plan how we were going to end the series on 1 John – “Knowing That You Know Jesus.” I had this random idea. I began to tell Jeff what I was thinking, and he said, “I was thinking the exact same thing. Let’s go with it.”

So, anyway, that “go with it” happened this morning. It was powerful and unexpected.

We simply read through the Book of 1 John. At the end of different sections, we worshiped according to the truth read. It was so simple and powerful just letting the Word speak. No commentary. No need for explanation. And we know it did not return void.

Gus Burgdorf did a great job sharing his work with the Gideon’s ministry. The Word is powerful (getting the theme yet?).

Today, we worshiped to a lot of music:

Believe God

April 25, 2017April 14, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Special day at North Side! Celebrated baptism and communion. Worshiped with all our hearts. Heard the Word proclaimed. Loved seeing the church in action!

We studied in 1 John 5 and talked about the 3 witnesses: the water (baptism), the blood, and the Spirit. We were able to experience that and celebrate each element today! It was such a special time.

Today, we worshiped to:

Overcome the World

April 25, 2017April 6, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Such a special time at North Side Baptist Church this morning. I love gathering with these people because it truly is family.

We were blessed to have the Erskine Gospel Choir lead us in worship this morning. Tobe Frierson’s leadership is so passionate and the choir does such a wonderful job.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Love of Christ

April 25, 2017March 24, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Powerful day of worship. It was great to begin celebrating Passion Week as a church family. Jeff’s message was so true. 1 John 4 paints a picture of the love of Christ that is simply breathtaking. He wanted to save us. He loves us. Christ loves people like me!

Today, we worshiped to:

Test the Spirits

April 25, 2017March 17, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Sunday’s service consisted of focusing upon 1 John4 and the exhortation to test the spirits.

In our culture today, you can get your hands on more “Christian teaching” than ever before. Books, sermons, services, shows, podcasts, etc. You name it. I’m living proof that ANYONE can write a book. There has never been more spiritual resources available than there is now and never a more reason to discern every teaching you encounter.

In order to navigate through these times, John was advising the church to test the spirits. Jeff did a fantastic job handling this text. Solid sermon.

Sunday, we worshiped to:

Love {in}Deed Recap

December 30, 2016March 13, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Still hearing reports of all God did through his church on Sunday as North Side participated in a Love {in}Deed day as we served Greenwood.

We said, “Amen,” and then we went throughout the city to serve others. As the worship service concluded, the real service began.

Here were some of the feedback we received from just a few of our sites:

Love {in}Deed

April 25, 2017March 10, 2013 by Travis Agnew

What a great day of worship all day long with North Side! What started in a worship center ended all over the community. When the service ended, the real service began!

Our church left worship and went to every corner of Greenwood and showed love in deeds rather than in just words. As we studied 1 John 3:18, we decided to put it into practice.

Today, we worshiped to:

Hate Sin

April 25, 2017March 3, 2013 by Travis Agnew

What a special time of worship today! I am so thankful that while we had some curve balls thrown our way today via technology bothers, we have a such a special group of volunteers that make things happen in such a great way week in and week out!

We were so blessed to have Cassie back with us today. Such a special time just to see the church love on her. Excited about the movement of the gospel among us. OG also gave us directions for the way we are wrapping up our Love {in}Deed Sunday next week with a North Side staff vs. Burton Center clients basketball game Sunday 7PM. Can’t wait!

Today, we worshiped to:

Love Purity

April 25, 2017February 24, 2013 by Travis Agnew

The pic above is Mama Barnes teaching us all how to dance at 80 years old! She dances better than 18 year olds!

Mama Barnes and the Faith Home Choir helped lead us in worship today and it is always a privilege to have them. We consider this group as part of our family, and seeing the change that this ministry makes in the lives of people is always such a thrill to watch.

Today, we worshiped to:

Remain in Christ

April 25, 2017February 17, 2013 by Travis Agnew

The above picture is the Love {in}Deed map that we unveiled today at North Side. We are excited that on March 10th, we are leaving the worship service for the real service to begin as we serve in nearly every corner of Greenwood. Signups were a great first day, but we still have some open spots!

I was so thankful to have some of our high school students help lead worship today. These young men have a genuine passion for the Lord and are leading off stage and on stage at such a high level. Not a high level for their age. A high level. It is an honor to have them help lead worship. I am looking forward to letting the next generation in our church lead more often!

Today, we worshiped to:

Don’t Love the World

April 25, 2017February 10, 2013 by Travis Agnew

While I am a part of the crew that creates the worship services, I was shocked at how much I was personally impacted today. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride a couple of times, and I felt the story was told in such a heavy way today.

We started with an acoustic and just vocal song to encourage people to sing out into worship. We then continued the theme and lifting Jesus up and getting out of the way. After reading some Scripture about Jesus’ temptation, we then sang “It Is Written” as a call for us to obey God’s Word instead of our desires. Some of our college students then did a fantastic job of doing the “Everything” drama set to music by Lifehouse. As that ended dramatically, we began to sing, “Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing.” And then the message that was full of truth!

I don’t know why – but it was heavy for me today. I was blown away by some of the comments today after services and some of the stories that I was hearing of how individual elements spoke to different people. There are people who were on the verge of throwing their lives away that are turning away from this world system and turning to Jesus. Overwhelmed!

Today, we worshiped to:

Stuck in the Orphanage

April 11, 2017January 29, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I was his father. He was my son. But at the time, we were just learning each other.

I was in Ethiopia getting ready to bring my son home from the orphanage. We had many obstacles in his life to combat, but we really had faith that God was going to do some special things in his life.

When I called home to tell Amanda about our first encounters, I told her of how Eli was so handsome, funny, and energetic. I told her that the nannies called him the “bus driver,” because all the bus drivers in Ethiopia were short, fat, and assertive. Not sure if that was a good thing at the time or not.

She then asked if there was anything else that she needed to know.

Well, there was on thing for which she needed to prepare herself.

Keep His Commandments

April 25, 2017January 27, 2013 by Travis Agnew

The above picture is a shot of my sermon notes today. 1 John 2:3-6 is so plain, there isn’t a ton to unpack there. It’s pretty simple. If you really know Jesus, you will keep his commandments.

There really wasn’t a lot to add to that Scripture, so I didn’t try to add a bunch to it. God’s Word is sufficient. It doesn’t need frills, it just needs to be heard.

So that’s what we did. We ended my message early and let God speak.

Walk in the Light

April 25, 2017January 20, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I’ve tried to make the biblical text of the day always guide our services, but recently I’ve felt the need to take it a step further. As a worship leader, I sometimes feel like I need to state the obvious. I don’t pick out songs based on what songs I would like to sing. I design a service to set the table for the Word to be proclaimed. I love it when the Word has already been proclaimed before the preacher gets on the platform.

So, today, I stated the obvious. Since 1 John 1:5-2:2 was the focal text in which the service was designed, I read different passages as we went through the service. Since the 1st section came from the 1st section of the service, I tried to connect the dots for the worshipers. Same thing for the 2nd part and following. Hopefully, our church is able to see the biblical intentionality that we take for every single thing that goes in a service.

Today, we worshiped to:

Knowing That You Know Jesus

April 25, 2017January 6, 2013 by Travis Agnew

New year. New series. New book. We started our 3-monthish focus of 1 John this morning with a series entitled: “Knowing That You Know Jesus.” If you recall, we studied the Gospel of John and it was called “Knowing Jesus,” but this focus is really settling on testing to see if you are in the faith or not. How can one be sure that he or she is saved?

Today was one of our most packed and energetic Sundays I can ever remember. Both services were hopping, and there was a real eagerness to encounter Jesus today. I was so thankful to Cole, Patrick, Julio, and Sam for sharing about their time at Passion 2013. So great to hear how God was using them and how God is leading them for their next steps. Can’t wait to see what he does through these students and the many others who went with our church.

Today, we worshiped to:

Greater is He

April 25, 2017July 16, 2012 by Travis Agnew

In following Christ, you will encounter a certain type of opposition with people whose approval you might seek as you go forward. In addition to that conflict, you will also experience forces that are adamantly against you and your progress.

Every person who ever tried to fight a noble cause experienced great opposition.

Jesus stated that the enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He wants to destroy every aspect of you and your fight.

If you are trying to unite your family, he will try to steal your joy by resistance in family members. If you are trying to mobilize the men in your church to lead, he will attempt to kill your drive to go forward. If you are trying to seek justice for people in unfortunate situations, he will set his efforts towards destroying any progress that you made. He will come with all the fury of Hell, make no mistake about it.

But he doesn’t have to win.

Family Resemblance

April 25, 2017November 26, 2010 by Travis Agnew

1 Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
(1 John 3:1-3, HCSB)

Family Resemblance

As a young boy, I would often hear from someone how one of my features resembled either my mother or my father. Some people could actually tell I was their child even if they had never met me. Now as a father, I always enjoy hearing from people who they think our boys look like. Sometimes I have left a room to have someone tell my wife, “I won’t tell your husband this cause I don’t want to offend him, but your children look just like you.” I always laugh at that. I’m not upset if my children look like their mother (I did choose to marry her, you know?).

It’s a fact of life: children share family resemblance with their parents. It might be the way they look, the way they talk, or they way they behave, but children often resemble their parents.

As children of God, we are called to do the same!

Worldliness #3 (or the dangerous side of contentment)

January 3, 2017January 29, 2009 by Travis Agnew

In our continuing conversation on worldliness, the Apostle John has some helpful words: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in …